CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for Oct. 15, 2013)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 15, 2013

Women's Soccer Ties Top-Ranked Wheaton 2-2 on the Road;
Men's Soccer Falls at Hope 3-1 - Now Tied for First Place;
Volleyball Rolls Past Trine - Maggie Kamp Named AVCA D3 National Player of Week

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Wheaton 2 (2OT)

WHEATON, IL - In a matchup of nationally-ranked teams, Calvin battled non-conference rival Wheaton (IL) to a 2-2 double-overtime draw. Wheaton entered the match ranked number-one in the country while Calvin came in ranked 21st.

Calvin is now 3-0-2 in overtime games.

Calvin used a come-from-behind effort to tie the game as the Knights battled back from a 2-0 second half deficit.

Wheaton (12-0-2) drew first blood, scoring on a goal by Holland native Anna Seabolt in the 32nd minute of play and scored again in the 61st minute off a corner kick play.

Calvin (11-1-2) refused to fold however, cutting the deficit in half on a goal by senior Heidi Scholten (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) in the 67th minute. Scholten was set up on the play by freshman teammate Kaily Jo (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) as Jo sent a cross to the far right side of the box. Scholten then sent a shot that squirted through the hands of the Wheaton goalkeeper and into the net.

In the 73rd minute, Calvin found the equalizer off the foot of sophomore Sidney Kinney (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS). Kinney was able to retrieve a bouncing ball on the left side of the box and crank a shot that skipped off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Calvin nearly took the lead with six minutes left in regulation as Scholten scored what appeared to be the go-ahead goal on a header to the far post but the goal was nullified by an off-sides call.

Neither team was able to score in the two overtime sessions although Wheaton nearly came up with the game-winner in the closing minutes of the first overtime on a bouncing ball that skipped just a few inches past the near post.

Wheaton outshot Calvin 21-12 in the contest but Calvin senior goalkeeper Ashton Hearn (Port Huron/Port Huron Northern HS) came up with 12 key saves.

The tie was the first-ever draw in the Calvin/Wheaton women's soccer series with Wheaton now holding a 10-8-1 series lead.

"I have to give credit to our team for refusing to quit," said Calvin women's soccer coach Mark Recker. "Wheaton is a quality program and we have great respect for what they do and stand for but our players weren't intimidated. Anytime you can come down to Wheaton and get a result it's a positive. I think this game will be a confidence booster for our players."

Calvin will now turn its attention to a Saturday match against a tough Saint Mary's team scheduled to begin at noon. In the first meeting of the year between the two teams, the Knights and Belles battled to a 0-0 double-overtime tie.

MEN'S SOCCER
Hope 3, Calvin 1
By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin men's soccer team traveled to Holland on Tuesday evening in a meeting between the top two teams in the MIAA. Calvin entered the matchup at 6-1-0 in the conference while Hope was 5-2-0 in league play.

The Knights and Flying Dutchmen already played once this season, with Calvin claiming a 5-1 victory at Zuidema Field on September 17.

Again, it would be the home team defending their field as the Flying Dutchmen came away with a 3-1 victory.

Hope possessed the ball much of the first half and recorded the first strong opportunity on net in the 13th minute that slipped just wide.

Hope continued to pressure, and just as they had in the first meeting, it was the Flying Dutchmen that struck first. Gavin Midlam headed a Grant Neil throw-in past the Calvin keeper as Hope took a 1-0 lead.

The Knights almost got one back in the 37th minute as junior Travis Vegter sent sophomore Taylor Pruis through the Hope defense on a run. Unfortunately, the shot by Pruis went wide of frame, and the Flying Dutchmen took the 1-0 lead into the break.

Less than four minutes out of halftime, Hope added an insurance goal. Tarwo Konbloa set up on the back post and volleyed in a cross from Cameron Dice to give the Flying Dutchmen a 2-0 lead.

Calvin got a goal back in the 62nd minute. Making a run up the middle, senior Zach Willis sent Vegter to the top of the box with a through ball. Collecting the ball on his left foot, Vegter cracked a shot which beat the Hope keeper near post for his 16th goal of the season, cutting Hope's advantage to 2-1.

In the 83rd minute, Hope scored a third goal which sealed the game, as Cameron Dice received a pass from Jason Muller and beat Calvin keeper Andrew Claucherty one-on-one.

Calvin continued to pressure, sending another man forward on offense but could not score another goal as it fell 3-1 to rival Hope.

Despite the score, the Knights held a 22-19 shots advantage. Calvin also earned a 6-4 corner kick edge by game's end. Claucherty made five saves in net for the Knights.

"I felt like tonight, Hope did the little things and we didn't," said head coach Ryan Souders. "When two good teams square off, the little things make the difference. In terms of dangerous chances, I think we were quite even. They put a couple more away, their keeper makes a couple of extra saves, and that's the difference. I'm proud of our effort, we just have to pick ourselves up and get the next three points."

Calvin falls to 7-5-0 overall and 6-2-0 in the MIAA, while Hope improves to 10-3-1 and 6-2-0 in league play.

The Knights now look forward to Saturday when they will try to get back on the winning track when they host the Thunder of Trine at 2:30 p.m.

MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-15-13

Calvin 6-2-0
Hope 6-2-0
Olivet 5-3-0
Kalamazoo 4-3-1
Alma 4-4-0
Adrian 3-3-2
Albion 2-5-1
Trine 0-8-0

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Trine 0

Calvin improved to 24-0 overall and to 12-0 in the MIAA with a 25-21, 25-13, 25-10 victory over the visiting Thunder of Trine University Tuesday night inside Van Noord Arena.

Ranked number-one in the country, Calvin hit .375 as a team and picked up steam as the match went along. Calvin hit .220 in set one but proceeded to hit .469 in set two and .522 in set three.

Sophomore Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) had 13 kills, 12 digs and a hitting percentage of .478. Freshman Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) had nine kills, three blocks and a .316 hitting percentage. Juniors Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS) and Emily Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawaka HS) had eight kills apiece.

Senior setter Megan Rietema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had 31 assists and seven digs. Senior Kristen Zietse (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had 14 digs and a pair of service aces.

The match sets up a showdown between the top two ranked teams in Division III volleyball Friday night at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse as Calvin will travel to number-two ranked Hope for a 6:30 p.m. match. Hope is currently 23-1 overall with its only loss coming to Calvin back on September 17.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-15-13

Calvin 12-0
Hope 10-1
Saint Mary's 7-5
Kalamazoo 6-5
Olivet 5-7
Alma 5-7
Trine 4-7
Adrian 2-9
Albion 1-11

MORE VOLLEYBALL
(release provided by the American Volleyball Coaches Association)

Maggie Kamp, a sophomore outside hitter for No. 1 Calvin College, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National Player of the Week.

It was another dominate week for the Knights, notching another five wins, all in straight sets, with four of them coming against teams ranked in the top-15 of the AVCA Coaches Poll. After nailing 14 kills on .520 hitting in the sweep over Olivet, she went on to tally an additional 55 combined kills, 20 digs and 11 blocks in the next four matches over No. 7 Mount Union, No. 13 Wittenberg, No. 6 Elmhurst and No. 15 Chicago.

In her final three matches of the week she never hit lower than .400, finishing with a 15-kill performance and a .517 hitting percentage over the Maroons. For the week, the sophomore averaged 4.6 kills, 1.47 digs and one block per set to go along with her .382 hitting percentage. Also of note, in 86 reception attempts she recorded just two errors, which came in one match against Wittenberg. On Monday, Kamp was also named the MIAA Player of the Week for the second time this year.

This is the seventh time a student-athlete from Calvin has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National Player of the Week, with the most recent coming from her sister Rebecca Kamp on September 20, 2011.
Received on Tue Oct 15 23:45:11 2013